Tag Archives: economy

A few days ago, Deskmag, the coworking magazine, launched a worldwide survey, in order to investigate the motivations of the users of coworking spaces. Coworking Europe 2010 is proud to be a partner of this great initiative.

The survey collected answers from 661 coworking space users around the world, originating from 24 different countries. The evaluation of the data requires a little time, but a few preliminary results are already available, says Deskmag.

Here they are :

Firstly, it seems a large majority of coworkers are very satisfied with their coworking space. Seventy percent of all coworkers said they were very happy with their desk in their coworking space. A quarter found their coworking space to be okay, while only 8% of respondents were disappointed by their community based shared office.

The positive results stem from the real advantages offered by coworking spaces. Most respondents said they are more motivated (85%) and have better interaction with other people (88%) since they moved into a coworking space. Almost half now work in teams more often (57%).

More than half organize their working day better so they can relax more at home (both 60%). At least 42% of all coworkers also report earning a higher income since joining a coworking space, and only 5% suffer from a loss of income.

The price of coworking is satisfactory for most participants. Fifty-four percent said the price was exactly right, and about a quarter think it was a little high but still fair (21%). One in five respondents would be willing to pay a little more, while only 6% said it was too expensive.

Should bureaucrats and bankers start setting up booths in coworking spaces? Jean-Yves Huwart thinks so. The coordinator of Coworking Europe 2010 conference says coworking spaces could become hubs for government agencies and institutions seeking to reach freelance workers and start-up businesses.

“In most cities, there is a lot of help provided by the authorities to starting companies,” Huwart observes, “But you can spend at least two months visiting support bodies for entrepreneurs. What if all those support bodies could gather in one place? At a coworking space. It would save so much time.”

Banks, too, should be interested in having a presence in a location where many young companies sprout. One of the sponsors of the European coworking conference is the Dutch bank ING, which wants to increase its reach to startups. Huwart believes other bankers will follow.

Coworking Spaces as hubs for international contacts

Coworking spaces also have a role to play as nodes of international interaction between small companies wanting to expand. […]

True capitalism as about independence, so one more person that is creating their own economy is one more person contributing to other businesses and creating economic flow […] Coworking spaces are a great breeding ground for true capitalism, you see the members at THECUBE London, exchanging services, generating connections, all whilst maintaining their economic independence. The entrepreneurs in the space may not be the next Donald Trump, however they are contributing to each other’s economy and taking positive steps into creating sustainable and strong businesses.